I’m lucky my banking app works (GrapheneOS), as it’s now requiring 2FA with the app anytime I login on the browser. Can’t use an actually secure form like TOTP. At least they now allow passwords over 8 characters (yes, serious).
(Meme in comments)
Magisk plus DenyList luckily works for my banks. Couldn’t imagine not having a rooted phone.
Non-rooted phones are just like iPhones. Ewww…
Like bicycles with training wheels.
Can you compile your own OS from source for an iPhone and install it yourself? I don’t think so.
I have done that with my non-rooted android, and I can do anything I want with my phones through the powers of open source software.
Rooting is unnecessary now and that’s a good thing.
You can’t do that without unlocking the bootloader, and that alone will trip “root detection” (Play Integrity).
Some apps take it further and won’t run if you enable Developer Options! (Or have any number of “hacking apps” installed, such as autotap apps that don’t even need root.)
Yes, I am aware of how it works. Unlocking the bootloader is not the same as rooting, and all my apps work just fine.
If they work with an unlocked bootloader then they would almost certainly also work fully rooted, with the advantages that brings (such as actual working app+data backups, limiting max battery charge, better automation possibilities with apps like Tasker, etc)
I’d much rather switch banks than give up rooting my phone.
Who cares if it’s necessary? If people want to do it, they should be able to, without punishment.
Well you can, and there is no punishment, so you should be happy.
I imagine you probably think “punishment” is that some bank won’t let you use their app on a rooted phone. That is not a punishment, that’s the bank implementing the security that they deem necessary for access to their software, and is likely part of a license agreement that you agreed to by using it. You have no default entitlement to have free use of the software that anyone else produces unless the software developer’s license states that you do.
Actual punishment would be if your phone gets bricked by the OEM for rooting it, or government authorities fine or arrest you for rooting.
Rooting is unnecessary now and that’s a good thing.
Rooting is always necessary, you can’t convince me otherwise, imagine not having root permissions in your Windows, Linux or macOS machine…
Without “rooting” capabilities we wouldn’t have custom firmware for tech that is quite locked (like the PSP, Vita, 3DS and whatever OS they use), emulation would not be the same.
Heck, even some iOS versions can be jailbroken yet, I cannot conceive a world where iOS is less locked than Android.
You need to be the one who decides how your hardware is managed.
Agree, don’t get why you are being downvoted.
Removed by mod
You are being downvoted because you’re factually wrong. While Android (especially on Samsung devices) had been getting more locked down over the years, even unrooted it has way more freedom than an iPhone. For instance, you can install any number of APKs, without jumping through any hoops.
For now. Google’s recent patterns would seem to indicate the future trajectory of Android to become even more hobbled.
I doubt it will ever be as closed as iPhone but there’s a point where the door is technically still open, just not in a way that really means much.
As a I said before, I don’t care about downvotes. Be my guest.
That’s ok an all, but I assumed that you do care about making a false statement, which was the point of my response, to let you know.
I hate this so much!
My bank is like that and another horrible thing is that after you choose your password (which can be long and complex) you need to choose a 6 DIGIT restore code incase you forgot your password…
Why is is my BANK so bad at security??
Wait
You have a second password that’s (opens calculator) 20 bits of entropy???
And they all develop their own shitty app for 2FA (the lazy ones just rebrand SecureGo as their own - you still have to install all of them separately) instead of using the 15 year old TOTP standard. The latter is good enough for tiny companies like Google and Amazon but what do they know about itsec, right?
genius
🚨 Improper use of meme format 🚨
wait really? :/
I’m pretty sure panel 2 and panel 4 should have the same text
THIS MOTHERFUCKER MEMED WRONG
ok, sure, but the 4th is basically a rephrasing of the 2nd… close enough
🦴💥 Bone Hurting Juice detected 💥🦴
The app for my bank DNB (Norway) doesn’t work on my LineageOS phone, but it works on my GrapheneOS phone. I wonder if they’ve added the graphene keys, because it just suddenly started working a while ago, though might be some GrapheneOS magic
The hardware attestation feature is part of the Android Open Source Project and is fully supported by GrapheneOS. SafetyNet attestation chooses to use it to enforce using Google certified operating systems. However, app developers can use it directly and permit other properly signed operating systems upholding the security model. […] Direct use of the hardware attestation API provides much higher assurance than using SafetyNet so these apps have nothing to lose by using a more meaningful API and supporting a more secure OS.
https://grapheneos.org/usage#banking-apps
My banking apps work on GrapheneOS, so I guess they are using hardware attestation instead of SafetyNet. LineageOS won’t pass hardware attestation because it doesn’t support locked bootloader.
LineageOS doesn’t spoof safetynet and play integrity, GrapheneOS does afaik. So that’s most likely the reasonSee below
GrapheneOS doesn’t either. It does Android Hardware Attestation instead of SafetyNet. It has never, and will never spoof SafetyNet.
With the PNC bank I use, about 12 years ago, passwords used to be case insensitive, and they would allow ridiculously insecure passwords without complaining, like one123. I had a ridiculous password like that for a while because it was funny, then realized I’d be the one to pay for it.
I didn’t try a rooted phone, but thankfully my banking app did work on my phone with custom ROM without SafetyNet.
But they do block some VPNs. I know it temporarily didn’t work with ProtonVPN, though now it does again. They only told me that they allow VPNs which they consider secure, but for security purposes they won’t reveal how those considerations are done.
How would that make it insecure, if they aren’t just using pre-made IP blocklists?
Anyway, that was a painful experience.
Getting it to work after being to connected to VPN required de-activation and re-activation of the app. That’s a fairly painful process since it uses OTP tokens generated by a card reader:
It does have a digital version, but that’s less secure.
Magisk Hide + app rename works most of the time, for those with rooted phones
Funnily enough I had issues with Wallet working on my phone since I have unlocked bootloader but no root. Banking and everything else afaik worked. So I installed all that stuff, Magisk, Magisk Hide, I don’t even remember all the things I tried and what it resulted in was now since I was actually rooted all the banking apps and other stuff stopped working.
When you root, you’re creating more flags for apps to detect, so you have to put in more effort to hide them all. That means a greater likelihood of something being detected if you missed it. It’s a trade off. You do have to learn a bit about what you’re doing and do some trial and error.
But the greater point is, if banking apps and wallet are important to you on that specific phone, you can either root and put in the effort to make it work, root and just do all that stuff from a browser, or not root at all.
Yeah, it’s annoying, but it isn’t the fault of Magisk or the rooting community, it’s Google and your banks fault for actively punishing you for using your own device the way you like.
Personally, I have two phones now. My main one is rooted, and if I need an app that breaks on root, I pull out the “clean” one (my old phone after factory reset). Use a hotspot if mobile.
For me it’s important that my banking works (so far they haven’t complained about unlocked bootloader, only about root) but Wallet is just nice to have. And that doesn’t work with unlocked bootloader but did work with root. I guess it’s no root for me since I haven’t managed to juggle them both.
Sucks that Google is doing this. I don’t even have root and they are complaining. Makes having a custom rom annoying sometimes.
Banks do this because most people don’t know how to use technology and it’s a lot easier to get remote access and malware on your computer than your phone.
My bank luckily just slaps me with a huge warning screen every time I open the app.
My banking app requests root access which is funny
Even worse still: many online banking services require you to connect to Google, basically through the back end captcha system. You never have to solve the puzzle or click on traffic lights, but they do still associate you and your web browser with having an account with that bank.
However also, you can often use root with banking apps, you just have to set it up right. Configure Magisk to operate in the Zygisk domain with a deny list, and add the apps to that.
My credit union’s web site looks like a MySpace page. They don’t even offer freaking 2FA. Been meaning to transition to cash management account but such a PITA.
I have an account with a larger credit union and their Android app implements onerous rules which some exec must feel makes it more secure, but is just a burden 99.999% of the time. Today I found that the fingerprint login expires after a week of not logging in, requiring the username/password to log in. Annoying but ok, I log in with a username and password. Then it says I need to do MFA and presents 3 options, email, SMS, and app push notification. The UI for app push notification even says “This device”. I selected that one, and the app shows the approve/deny button over the MFA requirement screen.
So obviously the saved state in the app wasn’t actually expired, since it could still approve MFA requests. So what good is it expiring biometric auth if the app is still authorized to log me in effectively bypassing MFA?
So obviously the saved state in the app wasn’t actually expired, since it could still approve MFA requests. So what good is it expiring biometric auth if the app is still authorized to log me in effectively bypassing MFA?
I love this and hate this so much
My dyslexic ass read that as “Baking apps” and i was genuenly confused.
Doesn’t work because of Play Integrity API but there are ways to bypass it. At least for now. Look up PlayIntegrityFork.
Some apps implement other checks. Mine checks whatever you replaced the stock webview (checking the package name). So sometimes it is challenging to find those checks to bypass them.
Google and the banks can eat my whole asshole.
This post is against Rule 6, but I’ll leave it up this time since there are a decent amount of discussion here now.
lseif@sopuli.xyz, please remove the image when you can. You can post it in the comments.